With NBA media negotiations reaching their endgame, NBC Sports is poised to scoop up All-Star Game rights, sources tell Front Office Sports.
Under the league’s pending mega-deals worth $76 billion over 11 years, NBCUniversal’s broadcast network would get most of All-Star weekend, starting with the ‘25–26 season, sources say. In the proposed plan, NBC would televise the Slam Dunk and 3-Point contests on Saturday, then the All-Star Game itself on Sunday. But Disney’s ESPN would keep rights to the traditional celebrity game on Friday nights.
It would be a huge coup for NBC, the league’s former TV partner, to swoop back into the mix with one of the NBA’s highest-profile events. Alex Sherman of CNBC first reported the possible shift, tweeting: “I’m told NBCU will get all of the NBA all-star games in their package, assuming the deal closes with the parties involved. So, both Disney and Amazon won’t have any. Disney will get the [Friday night] celeb game for ESPN.”
TNT and sister network TBS have aired 22 consecutive All-Star Games going back to 2003, notes Sports Media Watch. But when NBC held NBA media rights during the league’s “Roundball Rock” era from 1990 to 2002, the network annually televised All-Star weekend festivities.
After months of negotiations, the NBA recently finalized contractual terms on the respective offers from incumbent ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video. But nothing’s official, and nobody’s popping champagne bottles yet. I’m hearing Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT is still holding out hope for a smaller, face-saving, fourth rights package. Don’t forget: TNT also holds “matching rights” to the third-party bids from NBC and Prime. Once TNT gets the paperwork, it will have roughly five days to match. If the NBA rejects TNT’s match, the whole thing could end up in court.
Still, TNT superstar Charles Barkley is pessimistic about the former Turner Sports retaining the NBA despite 40 years in business together. The Hall of Famer told CNBC he hopes TNT matches outside offers—but his hopes are dwindling. “Honestly, in my heart, I think we have lost the package. That’s my honest opinion,” Barkley said. “But I really hope we get a last-minute reprieve for the people at Turner.”
If NBC returns to NBA coverage, one of its first tasks will be to revitalize All-Star TV ratings. This year’s 2024 All-Star Game telecast averaged 5.5 million viewers across TNT, TBS, and truTV. That was up 20%. But the year before, viewership fell to a 20-year low of 4.6 million. That’s a far cry from the 10.8 million viewers who watched TNT’s first All-Star telecast in ’03 with Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant. Much less the staggering 23 million viewers who tuned in to NBC’s coverage during the height of the Michael Jordan–Barkley era in 1993. The NBA and NBC declined to comment.
Given the decreasing popularity of all-star games in general, it’s doubtful the NBA All-Star Game would return to that kind of audience. But NBC’s “Roundball Rock” era is thought of by many fans as a golden age for NBA coverage. I’m looking forward to seeing what NBC does with the property.
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Michael McCarthy’s “Tuned In” column is at your fingertips every week with the latest insights and ongoings around sports media. If he hears it, you will, too.
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